The 2024 European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Rationale In June, the European Commissions presented the Spring Package of the current European Semester cycle, which includes the fiscal and macroeconomic imbalance procedures and the country-specific recommendations. In the next cycle, the European Union (EU) will have to fully adopt the new economic governance framework approved in April. Takeaways •The current European Semester cycle is marked by the reinstatement of the European Union’s fiscal surveillance mechanism, with the opening of excessive deficit procedures against seven Member States (Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia). •The country-specific recommendations have also been approved. In the case of Spain, these include the fiscal policy requirements under the new governance framework and strengthening the implementation of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. •This year represents a transition towards the full implementation of the new governance framework in 2025. The first step is the submission by Member States of their national medium-term fiscal structural plans, including the multi-year net primary expenditure path.